I could hear the waves hitting the porthole of my cabin during the night, and in the morning the seas are still heavy as we approach Shag Rocks, with a strong wind hitting the NG Explorer on the starboard side. The ship’s stabilisers are working hard to keep the ship level, with the natural movement of the ship wanting to pitch and roll. The effect of the stabilisers means that the ship rolls gently – the overall effect is to be in a giant baby’s cot, rocked slowly from side to side, starboard to port, port to starboard. The soporific nature of it all means that this is largely a ‘cabin’ day, dozing while listening to the wash of the ocean. This is the view from the bridge…
And this is the view from the cheap seats…namely my cabin, which is normally above the water line!
Around 3.30pm, we pass Shag Rocks, home, surprisingly, to a large colony of Blue-Eyed Shags, or imperial cormorants. More albatrosses are in the air here, with black-browed, wandering, royal and light-mantled sooty albatrosses amongst the sightings. There is no shortage of blue-eyed shags, petrels and shearwaters, most of whom take to the water when a short hailstorm blows through.
Soon enough, the squall passes and it is back to sunny conditions, with a 7 metre swell! Tomorrow, we should arrive in South Georgia, where we will spend the next 3 days.
